Quietly Confident George Russell Wary of “On Paper” Advantage Over Max Verstappen & Co. Despite 2022 Dominance

The sport of Formula 1 is performance-driven. Being in the pinnacle of motorsport, teams always seek to eke out whatever minute advantage they can over their rivals, on and off the track. That being said, given the complexities of the sport, sometimes getting it wrong can lead to years of misery. However, getting it right can mean a dominant streak. That is exactly why any minor gains made by the team seem only significant on paper. For Mercedes’ George Russell, this crude fact isn’t lost on him. And this is why he doesn’t hope for championship glory as long as Red Bull and Max Verstappen arrive.

Last year, Red Bull were handed a 10% deduction in their aero-testing quota for this year by the FIA. On the face of it, this could spell disaster for the Milton-Keynes-based outfit. For Mercedes, they should be ecstatic. They have extra development tokens that they can use to dethrone Max Verstappen and Co. from their throne. However, Russell explained exactly why this will not be the case.

While speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Russell first began by evaluating the impact of Red Bull’s penalty on the dynamics of the 2023 season. “I think it can be a factor.” But the Brit was quick to put the whole thing into perspective. “But the benefit Red Bull has is they started from such a high level and they had the foundations there. We are using our wind tunnel time to find answers.”

“For example, is that the direction we need to go, or is that the direction we need to go? Whereas Red Bull, because they were on the right track from the beginning, they are not problem solving, they are just adding performance.”  

He then went on to belittle the ‘justice’ dealt to the Bulls by the FIA. “Even though it sounds like we have a lot more wind tunnel time, because they were on the right track from the start, I don’t think it will hurt them as much as it seems on paper. Because we probably use that extra 10% solving our problems, which Red Bull have already solved.”

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Verstappen himself isn’t too fussed about the whole penalty fiasco. But how confident is he of winning that third consecutive title?

Max Verstappen names the potential threats to Red Bull and his 2023 title aspirations

After 2022’s dominant display by Verstappen, it would be bold for anyone to assume anyone else other than the Dutch lion to win the title this year. That being said, the 2x champion himself is very wary about the curveballs that can be thrown his way.

In an exclusive interview with SkySports during the New York reveal launch, Verstappen first named Lewis Hamilton. “He’s been one of the greatest drivers ever in the sport, so for sure if he has the car to do it, he can fight for the title again.” However, the 7x champion isn’t the only one he’s going to look out for.

“But that’s the same for George [Russell, Hamilton’s team-mate]. it’s the same for Charles [Leclerc, Ferrari], it’s the same for Lando [Norris, McLaren] – if you give them the car that’s capable of winning the championship, they can.”

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Do you think anyone can end the dominant streak Max Verstappen & Co. are on? Or do you think 2023 is already a foregone conclusion?